Yes, but why ?Because USB is not the eldorado everybody has advertised in 1997. Sometimes, you need to tell windows the thing you attached to it is a Blackberry. And on the device side, depending on your carrier, they may have set the default to not enable your Blackberry to act as a real USB device. The U in USB (Universal Serial Bus) is not universal at all. It's still all about the drivers.

Yes, but still, why ?Because on contrary to what would be great, when you install the Desktop Manager or the Blackberry Media Sync, the USB drivers are not installed along. Sometimes, it just works, sometimes you get frustrated.

so, what now ?I recommend you to install the USB drivers prior to installing the other applications, that are :

Desktop Manager without Roxio Media Manager

Desktop Manager with Roxio Media Manager

Blackberry Media Sync

How ?To install the USB drivers, you have to download them on the download section of Blackberry.com . Surprisingly enough, except if you are a European speaking person you won't find it in the "USB Drivers" but in the "Desktop Manager" section.

Here are the direct links for the USB drivers for Blackberry in english, I recommend the 4.5 version since it works for me.

Well, you have just taught your Windows how to recognize a Blackberry device. You still have to order your Blackberry device to not be shy and tell she's a real USB device.

How to activate the USB Mass Storage mode ?

it's pretty straightforward, just an option to activate. On your Blackberry device, from the Home screen, go to the Options and select the Media Card line. You will get to a page, please configure like this :

On your Windows, a popup should appear near the system tray "RIM Blackberry device detected".

On your Blackberry device, you may or may not first see a message about insufficient current. It just means you can't charge your Blackberry with that PC USB port. Hit the escape key once (on your Blackberry device). You will be prompted a question : do you want to activate USB Mass Storage Mode. You can answer YES or NO. Answer YES.

Now, open a Windows Explorer : there should appear a new hard drive : it is the Blackberry that is recognized as a USB flash card reader. click on it. If you see four folders in it, everything is fine. If Windows says you must put something in the reader, it means you do not have a memory card installed inside your Blackberry. If you have a Blackberry that is not the blackberry Bold, you have to buy one in order to be able to use the multimedia features of your Blackberry. Either ways, the USB connection is okay.

Why did I do all that for ?

Well, with just the USB drivers, you can put music and videos and pictures on your blackberry. Just drag'n'drop the files in the proper folder (among the four). If you want more, you can install the Desktop Manager (with or withour the Roxio Media Manager)of the Blackberry Media Sync if you're an iTunes person.

The search box on top-right of this page is your true friend, and the public Knowledge Base too:

Re: HOWTO : use your blackberry as a USB device

I'm at my wits end. The blackberry desktop software has eaten entirely days of my life trying to get it to work. I've posted a number of videos on youtube under 'pleabargain' detailing this nightmare of installing blackberry desktop.

Re: HOWTO : use your blackberry as a USB device

my intuition says that USB drivers should be always installed before any application using them... you should have uninstalled properly Desktop Manager 4.6 (using the KB that Bifocals has given you) prior to installing the USB Drivers, before installing the Desktop Manager again.

I find it surprising that the USB drivers did uninstall the DM, but anyway that's the right way to do it.

The search box on top-right of this page is your true friend, and the public Knowledge Base too: